Yellowball any word on the Clay Monster. i still feel sick to my stomach. it just doesnt seem right.

one of the most prolific clay courter of our times and he exits one of the most presitigious clay events in the 1st round (technically 2nd since he had a bye in the 1st).

i'm sure he's practicing for hamburg. i don't think he has a choice but to go there and defend his points.

right. it may not be about the points now. his preparation for Roland Garros is far from complete. he really needs to win the title in Hamburg and escape from there injury free.

now that's negative from u. the word 'escape' is just not associated with rafa on clay. our king ll return with 'heads' from hamburg. mark my words.

well you know what i mean. he needs to leave from there fully healthy.

yes, he ll.moreover he ll rest for a good 7 days before RG.that ll charge him up for a good 3 tournaments......rome is just a blip mainly coz of blisters, so let's forget about it. even if rafa doesn't hit a ball till the opening day of RG, he wud still win RG.......so, let's not worry at all

Yes, Rafael Nadal is amazing at RG, and it's great you are confident about him, but sometimes you seem over confident. You always say that Rafa WILL win everything, you even assured everyone that he would win this tournament. He had an injury however, proving that he isn't superman on this surface. Amazing, but not invincible.

it's not over confidence mate, it's the trust with which rafa binds us(we rafa ardents) to him......what can anyone do if an injury occurs? it's unavoidable n unfortunate, but if u ever want to associate the word 'invincible' with anyone in sports(not just tennis), it's nadal on clay n no one else comes that close really.......the certainty of him winning on clay wud be 99% n that sort of probability/certainty is just unimaginable for any other guy in any other sport, let alone tennis.......

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Marian Vajda to Novak Djokovic, "I saw you beat that man like I never saw no man get beat before, and the man KEPT COMING AFTER YOU! Now we don't need no man like that in our lives."

I'm a little torn about this thread. It's a little crazy but I feel like I'm betraying Herc when I post here. Seems kind of silly I know, but Herc intended that everything about Rafa be put on his thread and it's been perking along for sometime at a possibly record setting pace. What to do?

I really like having a thread with positive Rafa news... but Herc is a long-time Rafa bud, and knows his tennis... especially clay court play and Rafa.

it ll be alright when hercs too starts to post a thing or two in this thread.......ppl like u can feel vindicated.........

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Marian Vajda to Novak Djokovic, "I saw you beat that man like I never saw no man get beat before, and the man KEPT COMING AFTER YOU! Now we don't need no man like that in our lives."

Rafael Nadal flexed his muscles at Wimbledon with a grinding 6-4 6-4 7-6 defeat of German qualifier Andreas Beck in the first round.

The Spanish world number two, runner-up to Roger Federer at the All England Club for the last two years, looked comfortable on his return to Centre Court, dispatching an obdurate opponent with few alarms.

Nadal was kept on his toes by some fierce Beck serving but was ruthless when the few opportunities arose, pocketing the first two sets with single breaks of serve.

Left-hander Beck, making his Grand Slam debut, put up some dogged resistance in the third, not least when saving four break points at 3-3, and came within two points of snatching a set before Nadal changed gear to romp through the tiebreak.

Life could get considerably harder for Nadal in the second round where rising Latvian Ernests Gulbis awaits.

The four-times French Open champion arrived for his fifth Wimbledon having claimed his first grasscourt title at Queen's Club. The Mallorcan was even tipped in the build-up by former great Bjorn Borg to end Federer's All England Club reign this year.

He certainly played with ruthless efficiency and with 17 aces to his name, demonstrated that his swinging left-handed serve is now a weapon to be feared on slick grass.

However, there were also times when the 22-year-old baseliner struggled to dominate an opponent playing the biggest match of his career.

Nadal's first serve accuracy was up at 80 percent during the opening two sets as Beck got nowhere near a break. Nadal pounced at 3-3 in the opener when Beck erred with a backhand and he broke again at 1-1 in the second set.

Unlike at Roland Garros where Nadal switched on the after burners to blow a succession of opponents off court, he could find no quick way to get rid of Beck during a third set that went on for 64 minutes.

Nadal was frustrated at 3-3 when Beck twice produced big aces to fend off danger while the German also smacked a forehand winner bang on the baseline to save another break point.

Beck, whose failure to forge a break point of his own in the match spoke volumes for Nadal's serve, finally succumbed in the tiebreak, failing to win a point as Nadal fired off a succession of rasping winners.

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Rafael Nadal ended Roger Federer's five-year reign as king of Wimbledon with a 6-4 6-4 6-7 6-7 9-7 victory in one of the most dramatic finals seen at the All England Club.

The 22-year-old Nadal survived an incredible Federer fightback to become the first Spaniard to win the grasscourt grand slam since Manuel Santana in 1966. He is also the first man since Bjorn Borg in 1980 to win the French Open and Wimbledon in the same year.

Nadal, beaten by Federer in the last two finals here, took the opening set with a single service break and then stormed back from 1-4 down in the second to snatch a two-set lead and leave the world number one reeling.

An 81-minute rain break seemed to help five-times champion Federer and he returned to snatch the third set on a tiebreak. He then saved two match points before taking another tiebreak to square the match at two sets all.

With light fading fast Nadal broke Federer at 7-7 in the fifth before claiming victory when Federer netted a forehand.

Reuters

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TORONTO (AFP) - Wimbledon champion Rafael Nadal will face Nicolas Kiefer for the third time in four months in the Toronto Masters final on Sunday as the unstoppable Spaniard aims for a third Masters title of 2008.

Second seed Nadal, playing his first event since beating Roger Federer for the title at the All England club, moved to his ninth final of the season with a 7-6 (7/2), 6-3 semi-final win over eighth-seeded Andy Murray of Scotland.

Nadal has moved even closer to Federer in the rankings race after the Swiss world No.1 crashed out this week in the second round to Simon.

Kiefer will be playing in his first final in three years and hoping to lift his first trophy since Hong Kong, 2000.

"I'm very happy with the way I was winning today," said Kiefer, who missed a year with two wrist surgeries from mid-2006. "I didn't play my best tennis.

"But in the important moments I could pick up my game, and I was playing pretty good. It wasn't easy after a few tough matches here, but right now I'm in another nice final.

"It's my first one in a Masters Series and I'm looking forward for tomorrow."

Nadal is on fire this season. He has polished his record to 60-7, capturing six titles from eight finals, including two Grand Slams and two Masters Series.

He landed in his fifth straight final after Murray saved two match points but then plowed a forehand into the net on another.

"I played a very good match, and Murray played one of his bet matches against me," said Nadal, who won this title in 2005 when the tournament was in Montreal. "But I've reached the final again.

"The second set was very tough, I was a break up, but he played well. He had a lot of good points.

"I'm very very happy to be in this final. To win a second time would be unbelievable."

Nadal profitted after a close-run first set when Murray came down hard on his right knee in the 11th gamedead-level first-set against the eighth seed after the Scot came down hard on his right knee in the 11th game.

While he played on in a set that produced not a sniff of a break point, Murray needed taping after dropping the tiebreaker.

Nadal went up a break early in the second set but gave it back with a double-fault in the fifth game. He went up again with a break in the eighth for a commanding 5-3 lead.

Kiefer has not claimed a set off of Nadal out of eight they have played this year. The Spaniard beat him at Miami, in Davis Cup and last month in the third round at Wimbledon.

"Of course, I have to pick up one more level," said the German, who owns six career titles.

Simon won his fourth career title at Indianapolis last weekend and carried on with a stunning second-round upset of Federer here.

"I just gave all I had today, I just wanted to win," said the Frenchman. "It was break-up for him in the first set and finally I won.

"It was break up for him in the third and finally I came back. I had a chance and the opportunity to win the match - finally I lost.

"I could lose so many matches before," he said. "I could lose against Federer, and I could lose against Haas in Indianapolis. This time was his day, not mine."

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TORONTO (Reuters) - Rafael Nadal continued his drive towards Roger Federer's number one ranking with a 6-3 6-2 win over Nicolas Kiefer in the Toronto Masters final on Sunday.

Nadal, playing his first event since an epic five-set victory over Federer in the Wimbledon final on July 6, claimed his seventh title in 2008 by winning his fifth final in a row since mid-May.

The 22-year-old Spaniard, making a smooth transition from grass to hardcourt, extended his winning steak to 29 matches.

"I win on every surface," Nadal told reporters. "I win on grass, on hard, on indoor, and on clay too. So if I am playing my best tennis I can win on every surface."

He overwhelmed his German opponent in 90 minutes, becoming the third youngest player behind Bjorn Borg and Jimmy Connors to accumulate 30 titles.

Nadal, who had won his four previous finals at Hamburg, Roland Garros, Queen's Club and Wimbledon, has not lost since a second round exit against compatriot Juan Carlos Ferrero at the Masters Series in Rome on May 7.

"Sure, for me the grass and hard is a little more difficult but I know if I am playing my best tennis I can play good here, too," he said.

"I am always trying to improve my tennis on every surface."

The 31-year-old Kiefer, who won his last tournament in 2000 before Nadal had joined the Tour, would not be intimidated by the muscular Spaniard but was quickly put under pressure.

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Nadal capitalized on his first break chance to surge ahead 3-2 then took the opening set with another break when Kiefer double-faulted.

It was not until the fifth game of the second set that the unseeded German got his first break opportunity but could not convert any of three chances, Nadal holding serve.

The muscular Spaniard immediately broke Kiefer to go up 4-2 and swept the last two games to take his second Canadian hardcourt title.

"Every tournament is very difficult. I won here in Canada in 2005, so to win the title here is very, very important for me, especially this year," he said.

While Nadal has downplayed his unofficial status as the world's top player he now heads to the Masters Series stop in Cincinnati with Federer's number one ranking within his grasp.

"Every player wants to be number one," said Nadal. "I would love to be number one but I am number two right now. I'm very happy to be number two.

"I have to be happy, very happy anyway if I am number one or number two because if I am number two it's because in front of me there is an amazing player like Roger."

Nadal had arrived in Toronto 770 points behind Federer but trimmed the lead to 300 with his victory and will have a chance to topple the Swiss master from the top spot he has held since February 2, 2004.

Federer was upset by unseeded Frenchman Gilles Simon in his opening match at Toronto in the second round on Wednesday.

(Editing by Rex Gowar)

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Rafael Nadal guaranteed he would become the third Spanish man to top the world rankings with a 7-6 6-1 victory over Ecuador's Nicolas Lapentti in the quarter-finals of the Cincinnati Masters.

By beating Lapentti, Nadal will end Roger Federer's four-and-a-half-year reign as world number one on August 18 at the latest, or as early as Monday if he takes the Cincinnati title.

"It was a tough match," Nadal said in a courtside interview.

"I was a little bit tired, especially after a tough win in Toronto last week. And the weather here is very humid and hot but it is important to be in the semi-finals.

"I am happy because I have been fighting a lot these last three years, although I was happy as number two as I won a lot of tournaments.

"But for sure, number one is a goal and I am very happy."

Nadal's win also took him a step closer to a sixth successive tournament triumph, underlining his evolution into a far more adaptable player on all court surfaces rather than his favourite, clay.

After ending Federer's five-year winning run at Wimbledon last month, Nadal has maintained his superlative form on the hard courts of North America while his Swiss rival has stumbled to early defeats in the two tournaments he has played since.

Should Nadal lose Sunday's final he would top the rankings on August 11 while a semi-final defeat would delay his coronation for another week.

The 32-year-old Lapentti took the contest to a tentative Nadal in the first set, often pinning the Spaniard way back behind the baseline with an aggressive brand of attacking tennis.

Nadal saved two break points in the eighth game and the reprieve appeared to invigorate him into action as he cruised through the tiebreak and the second set to seal victory in a one hour and 48 minutes.

The number two seed will face Novak Djokovic in Saturday's semi-final after the Serb battled past unseeded Latvian Ernests Gulbis 6-3 6-4 and Nadal knows he will need to play better to advance.

"If I want to beat Djokovic I have to play better than today and have to play my best match in Cincinnati for sure."

Moya and Juan Carlos Ferrero are the other Spaniards to have topped the world rankings since they were first devised.

Reuters

[youtube]http://es.youtube.com/watch?v=KYE6a6CyLBI[/youtube]

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Self-praise is for losers. Be a winner. Stand for something. Always have class, and be humble.

BEIJING (AP)—As Rafael Nadal stood in front of the medal podium, his nation’s flag draped across his back like a cape, he looked a little like a Spanish Superman.

In tennis, he is.

Already assured of the No. 1 ranking, Nadal was No. 1 at the Olympics. He won a gold medal Sunday, overcoming two set points in the second set and holding every service game to beat Fernando Gonzalez of Chile 6-3, 7-6 (2), 6-3.

The gold medal was the first ever for Spain in Olympic tennis, and another milestone in an astounding summer surge by Nadal, who will officially end Roger Federer’s 41/2-year reign atop the rankings Monday. Nadal has won 38 of his past 39 matches, including victories over Federer in the finals at the French Open and Wimbledon.

“Nowhere in my best dreams I can imagine something like what I did this year,” Nadal said. “I know how difficult it is to win these things, and especially here, because you only have one chance every four years.”

Men’s singles has traditionally been an upset-filled event at the Olympics, and Nadal is the first player ranked in the top five to win the gold. He stayed in the athletes’ village and said the experience rejuvenated him.

“I arrived very tired,” he said. “The reason probably I won this title is because I have a fantastic time here enjoying a lot in the village. That was amazing experience for me. Always was a pleasure to know new people, no?”

He took charge against Gonzalez from the start, breaking serve in the second game. Nadal didn’t face any break points until the 12th game of the second set, when he was down 5-6, 15-40.

Gonzalez failed to convert the set points, pushing a volley wide and putting a forehand in the net. The Chilean made five unforced errors in the tiebreaker to give Nadal a commanding lead.

Nadal ripped a backhand passing shot to break at love for a 3-1 lead in the final set, and erased two more break points to hold for 5-2.

He needed four match points to close out the victory, ripping one last Olympian forehand that Gonzalez could barely reach. Nadal collapsed to his back in jubilation.

“I think I played almost perfect match,” he said.

Gonzalez settled for a silver medal after winning a gold in doubles and a bronze in singles four years ago in Athens.

“I have chances in the second set, and I didn’t take it,” Gonzalez said. “After that, Rafa was dominating. He was make me run a lot. He’s a great champion, because he has been winning every important tournament in the past months.”

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Well, Nadal is off to a start at the USO. Not sure it was the start he wanted, but a win is a win. Blisters are not a good sign in the first round, luckily he gets a day of rest, maybe he can get lucky and get some rain tomorrow and give the blisters another day of rest to heal up.